Entering Sunday afternoon's Dollar Tree 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, eight drivers faced the possibility of being eliminated from postseason contention ahead of the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
RFK Racing's Ryan Preece, Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain, RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski, Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones, Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell, Kaulig Racing's A.J. Allmendinger, and Front Row Motorsports teammates Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith were all still alive in the playoff hunt, having entered New Hampshire within 152 points of the cutoff.
But six of them, all but Preece and Chastain, absolutely needed to make up ground on the cut line in Sunday's 301-lap race around the four-turn, 1.058-mile (1.703-kilometer) "Magic Mile" oval in New Loudon, New Hampshire to stay alive.
6 drivers eliminated at Loudon
Keselowski was able to do that, jumping from 78 points behind to 66 points behind with 76 points up for grabs at Daytona.
McDowell and Smith also made up ground, but not nearly enough; McDowell jumped from 104 points behind to 102 points behind, and Smith jumped from 149 points behind to 144 points behind.
Jones fell from 81 points behind to 96 points behind, Allmendinger fell from 125 points behind to 130 points behind, and Gilliland fell from 139 points behind to 142 points behind.
Gilliland notably failed to qualify for the playoffs after winning NASCAR's second annual In-Season Challenge. Both In-Season Challenge champions (Ty Gibbs, 2025) were crowned champion with finishes outside of the top 20 in the championship round, and both ultimately failed to qualify for the postseason later in the year. Additionally, neither one had ever actually won a Cup race at the time of their tournament title.
As for Preece and Chastain, they could afford to lose some, but not much, ground. Preece actually made up significant ground, moving from 50 points behind to 31 points behind, but Chastain fell from 63 points behind to 81 points behind with his DNF, eliminating him from title contention.
Preece would notably be just six points out, if not for his huge penalty at Texas Motor Speedway in early May.
Aside from the 16 drivers currently inside the playoff picture, only Preece and Keselowski still have a chance to qualify for the postseason. The top 13 drivers are now locked in.
Here are the five going for the final three spots, although admittedly Wallace clinching is a mere formality, so it's really four drivers going for two spots. Additionally, Keselowski can only possibly take the 16th spot, as he can no longer pass Austin Cindric.
NASCAR playoff cut line battle
Rank | Name | Points | Playoff |
|---|---|---|---|
14 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota | 630 | +75 |
15 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford | 599 | +44 |
16 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet | 586 | +31 |
17 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford | 555 | -31 |
18 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford | 520 | -66 |
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